Subjects

Description

The Plague of 251 was nicknamed the Plague of Cyprian because of St. Cyprian of Carthage’s recordings of the epidemic. In Cyprian’s treatise ‘On Mortality’ he depicts the symptoms of the disease and offers advice to Christians on how to proceed. Cyprian offers valuable insights to the students of history by depicting a reliable account of the plague so as to build accounts of epidemiology, and as an abstract concept, Cyprian illustrates the moral battles surrounding fatality of early Christians. Records of the Plague of 251 are helpful to epidemiologists, and Cyprian's consolation tactics explain the emotions of early Christians facing mortality.